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Some of the facts:

Unloaded, the Tesla Semi accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds, according to Musk. With a full 80,000-pound load, the truck reaches 60 mph in 20 seconds. A conventional diesel-powered truck takes 15 seconds and 60 seconds, respectively.

The Tesla can climb a 5 percent grade with a full load at 65 mph. A conventional truck maxes out at 45 mph. The Tesla has no transmission and only one gear, so it loses no time and speed to shifting. Diesel-powered semis have between 10 and 18 gears.

Fully loaded, the truck can travel 500 miles on a single charge, Musk said. One version will have 300 miles of range, according to Morgan Stanley Research analysts Ravi Shanker and Adam Jonas.

Tesla will build a network of high-speed, solar-powered charging systems called megachargers. They will provide 400 miles of range in 30 minutes. Megacharger use will cost 7 cents per kilowatt.

The Tesla Semi is powered by four electric motors from the Model 3 sedan. Each is controlled independently. Sensors will automatically adjust the motors to correct for pitch, yaw and traction. Two 15-inch touchscreen displays mounted on either side of the driver will provide access to navigation, blind-spot monitoring, telematics, maintenance and fleet management systems. Cameras mounted outside the cab provide surround view.

An electric-powered vehicle typically requires less upkeep and maintenance than a convention vehicle because there are fewer parts causing less friction. The total cost of operation for the Tesla Semi will be less than a diesel-powered Class 8 truck “on Day One,” Musk said. The Tesla Semi will cost $1.26 per mile, compared with $1.51 per mile for a conventional truck, or about 20 percent cheaper, according to Tesla.

Bloomberg estimated that an electric truck driving 60,000 miles per year can save $4,000 in maintenance and $14,000 in fuel when paying 11 cents per kilowatt — four cents more than Musk promised. The Tesla Semi also comes with a 1-million-mile guarantee, and the company estimates the as-yet unannounced up-front cost of the truck will be recouped in two years. “We anticipate significant utilization benefits on top of this,” Shanker and Jonas wrote.

Trucks with the batteries that are capable of 300 miles of range will be priced from $150,000. The trucks with 500 miles of range cost at least $180,000. To reserve either truck, a reservation of $20,000 is required. The first 1,000 trucks will be called the “Founder’s Series.” Pricing starts at $200,000 and a reservation of the full cost is required up front. A typical regional day cab truck costs $100,000 to $125,000. Larger sleeper cabs can be priced from $125,000 to $150,000.

Also see this link:

https://www.trucks.com/2017/11/20/tesla-semi-faq-facts/#:~:text=The%20Tesla%20can%20climb%20a,between%2010%20and%2018%20gears.

Some of the facts: Unloaded, the Tesla Semi accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds, according to Musk. With a full 80,000-pound load, the truck reaches 60 mph in 20 seconds. A conventional diesel-powered truck takes 15 seconds and 60 seconds, respectively. The Tesla can climb a 5 percent grade with a full load at 65 mph. A conventional truck maxes out at 45 mph. **The Tesla has no transmission and only one gea**r, so it loses no time and speed to shifting. Diesel-powered semis have between 10 and 18 gears. Fully loaded, the truck can travel 500 miles on a single charge, Musk said. One version will have 300 miles of range, according to Morgan Stanley Research analysts Ravi Shanker and Adam Jonas. Tesla will build a network of high-speed, solar-powered charging systems called megachargers. They will provide 400 miles of range in 30 minutes. Megacharger use will cost 7 cents per kilowatt. The Tesla Semi is powered by four electric motors from the Model 3 sedan. Each is controlled independently. Sensors will automatically adjust the motors to correct for pitch, yaw and traction. Two 15-inch touchscreen displays mounted on either side of the driver will provide access to navigation, blind-spot monitoring, telematics, maintenance and fleet management systems. Cameras mounted outside the cab provide surround view. An electric-powered vehicle typically requires less upkeep and maintenance than a convention vehicle because there are fewer parts causing less friction. The total cost of operation for the Tesla Semi will be less than a diesel-powered Class 8 truck “on Day One,” Musk said. The Tesla Semi will cost $1.26 per mile, compared with $1.51 per mile for a conventional truck, or about 20 percent cheaper, according to Tesla. Bloomberg estimated that an electric truck driving 60,000 miles per year can save $4,000 in maintenance and $14,000 in fuel when paying 11 cents per kilowatt — four cents more than Musk promised. The Tesla Semi also comes with a 1-million-mile guarantee, and the company estimates the as-yet unannounced up-front cost of the truck will be recouped in two years. “We anticipate significant utilization benefits on top of this,” Shanker and Jonas wrote. Trucks with the batteries that are capable of 300 miles of range will be priced from $150,000. The trucks with 500 miles of range cost at least $180,000. To reserve either truck, a reservation of $20,000 is required. The first 1,000 trucks will be called the “Founder’s Series.” Pricing starts at $200,000 and a reservation of the full cost is required up front. A typical regional day cab truck costs $100,000 to $125,000. Larger sleeper cabs can be priced from $125,000 to $150,000. Also see this link: https://www.trucks.com/2017/11/20/tesla-semi-faq-facts/#:~:text=The%20Tesla%20can%20climb%20a,between%2010%20and%2018%20gears.

(post is archived)

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

The biggest joke of all this is how much fossil fuels you have to burn to make these things.

[–] • 0 pt

Burning fossil fuels is good. They all came from ecology and burning them returns the chemicals to a state where they can be reused by plant and animal life. Burned oil will become flowers, shade trees, food, algae, and soil.

Why is there so much oil where there is no soil? Think about this.

[–] • 0 pt

With only one gear, I wonder how drivers will be able to control their speed on downgrades without burning up the brakes.

[–] • 3 pts (edited )

Ding ding ding! School is in. The answer is going to be counter electromotive force. When the motors are switched to be generators for braking, they are loaded by the battery charging system. This will be felt by the motor/generators as a reverse current which will create a magnetic field opposite the field of the motor/generator. That will act against the direction the motor/generator is spinning and slow the truck. Clear as mud?

Almost forgot, the amount of braking required would probably generate too much power and overload the charging system. To fix that there would have to be a large resistor bank that will take the excess current and convert it to heat. It will be an energy loss but regular brakes are a 100% energy loss so it’s whatever.

[–] • 1 pt

There are electric dump trucks that are capable of never recharging if they only move loads from high to low.

[–] • 1 pt

Their is no transmission and 4 electric motors. You're thinking in a traditional sense. It probably has a motor for each rear wheel. (I'm assuming each rear axle is using one extra wide tire per side instead of the traditional 2) There might be some kind of brake that assists in breaking but the kind of motors they are probably using can effectively act as their own breaks.

What makes electric motors so awesome is they provide maximum torque at all times no matter what rpm. Want to go faster, give it more juice. Need to slow down, reduce power. Back up reverse the flow of power. Want to stop, turn off the power. If you have a well designed controller you can get them to do some awesome things. Think things like near zero radius turns. (One set of wheels spins one way & the other in the opposite direction) It's some cool stuff.

[–] • 1 pt

Based on your description, I can see how the electric motors would act as a brake downhill.